What Does an EMDR Intensive Cost in Florida? A Transparent Breakdown
If you're considering an EMDR intensive, pricing is probably one of the first things you want to
understand and one of the hardest things to actually find out. Most therapy websites either
bury the numbers or list a per-hour figure that leaves you doing math you're not sure you're
doing right.
I'd rather just tell you plainly.
I've been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 1999. I offer Christian, trauma-informed
EMDR intensives to adults across Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina. What follows is
an honest look at what EMDR intensives cost in Florida, what my own pricing looks like, and
how to think about whether the investment makes sense for where you are.
What Is an EMDR Intensive and Why Is It Priced Differently?
Standard EMDR therapy typically means weekly 50-minute sessions spread across months. An
intensive condenses that same work into longer, focused blocks, usually three-hour
sessions, sometimes across more than one day.
This matters for pricing because you're not paying for a single therapy hour. You're paying for
something the extended format makes possible: enough uninterrupted time for the nervous
system to stay engaged, process what's there, and begin to integrate. The stop-and-start
rhythm of weekly sessions can work well for many people. For others, particularly those
carrying complex or layered trauma, the momentum of an intensive is what finally lets the work
move.
EMDR Therapy Costs in Florida: What the Market Actually Looks Like
Here's an honest picture of what practices across Florida currently charge.
Weekly EMDR sessions generally run between $150 and $350 or more per session, depending
on the therapist's experience and session length. Trauma specialists with extensive training
typically sit toward the upper end of that range.
EMDR intensives are usually offered as bundled packages. Across Florida, those packages
commonly fall somewhere between $1,500 and $3,000, depending on the total hours, the
format, and the therapist's background. A half-day intensive sits toward the lower end; a
comprehensive two-to-three-day intensive for complex trauma sits toward the higher end.
My Pricing
I keep things simple: $145 per hour, offered in three-hour blocks at $435 per block. All
intensives are self-pay, I don't bill through insurance, and I'll explain why that matters below.
Before anything is scheduled, we do a free consultation call to talk through your goals and
history and confirm how many blocks make sense for your situation. You'll know the full cost
before you commit to anything.
At $145 per hour, this rate sits below the typical Florida market for experienced, EMDR-trained
trauma work. That's not an accident, it reflects a decision about how I want to practice, not a
compromise on the quality of care.
What's Actually Included
The intensive itself is one part of a larger arrangement built around three phases.
The first is preparation and assessment. Before we do any processing, we take the time to map
your goals, your history, and what you most want to address. This isn't paperwork, it's the
work that makes the intensive time well-spent rather than disorienting.
The second is the extended EMDR processing sessions themselves, the three-hour blocks
where the deeper work happens.
The third is integration and follow-up. How the work settles in the days after matters. We don't
leave that to chance.
For clients who want it, faith-integrated care, prayer, Scripture, and reflection drawn from a
Christian framework : is woven naturally into the work. It's offered at your pace, and it's never
imposed.
Why Self-Pay?
Self-pay is standard for intensive trauma work, and it's worth being clear about why.
When therapy goes through insurance, it comes with constraints: required diagnoses that
become part of your permanent record, session limits set by someone who's never met you,
and ongoing authorization from a third party who gets to decide what your treatment should
look like. Self-pay removes that layer entirely. The work stays between you and your therapist,
shaped entirely by your goals.
It also means the cost is always clear in advance. There are no surprise statements, no out-ofnetwork claims to chase, and no ambiguity about what you owe.
Is the Cost Worth It?
That's the right question to ask, and it deserves a straight answer.
Weekly therapy at $150 to $200 per session, sustained over six months, adds up to
somewhere between $3,600 and $5,200 and that assumes steady, uninterrupted progress.
Trauma work in weekly format often doesn't move in a straight line. You open something
significant, the 50 minutes runs out, and a week passes before you can return to it. For some
people, that stop-and-start rhythm is exactly what they need. For others, it's the reason they've
been in therapy for years and still feel stuck.
An intensive compresses the timeline. For the right person, that means fewer total hours to
reach meaningful resolution, less time living with active symptoms, and no loss of momentum
between sessions. It also suits people whose schedules make weekly appointments genuinely
difficult to sustain.
None of that means an intensive is right for everyone. If it's not a good fit for your situation, I'll
say so on a consultation call not after you've paid.
Who This Tends to Help
Christian EMDR intensives tend to be most useful for adults who feel stuck despite prior
therapy, prayer, or genuine effort people dealing with trauma, anxiety, grief, or emotional
reactivity that seems disproportionate to what's happening in the present. If you notice strong
physical or emotional responses tied to past experiences, or if you've wanted trauma therapy
that doesn't require you to set aside your faith, this format may be worth exploring.
I work with adults across Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina via telehealth. If a slower
weekly pace would genuinely serve you better, a good consultation should surface that
honestly.
Questions Worth Asking Any Provider
Before you commit to an intensive with anyone, it's reasonable to ask: What's the total cost,
and how many hours of actual EMDR processing does it include? Are preparation and
integration sessions part of the arrangement, or billed separately? What are the deposit and
cancellation policies? What are your credentials and EMDR training?
These aren't adversarial questions, any thoughtful provider should welcome them.
A Word About Waiting
There's a cost that doesn't appear on any pricing page: the cost of staying in the same place.
Remaining stuck in familiar patterns has its own price in energy, in relationships, in the
texture of daily life. For some people, weekly therapy at a measured pace is exactly right. For
others, the slow drip never quite lets the wound close.
If you'd like to talk through whether an intensive fits your situation and what it would actually
cost in your case I offer a free 15-minute consultation. No pressure, no obligation, just a real
conversation.
Schedule a free consultation →
Related Reading:
How much does an EMDR intensive cost in Florida?
At Richard Forde Counseling, EMDR intensives are $145 per hour, offered in three-hour blocks
at $435 per block, self-pay only. Across the wider Florida market, intensive packages typically
range from roughly $1,500 to $3,000 depending on total hours and the therapist's experience.
Are EMDR intensives covered by insurance?
These intensives are self-pay and not billed through insurance. That keeps your care free from
session limits, required diagnoses, and third-party authorization and means you always
know your exact cost in advance.
Are EMDR intensives worth the cost?
For clients ready to do focused trauma work, intensives can reach meaningful resolution in
fewer total hours than months of weekly sessions. For the right person, the value often
outweighs the upfront cost particularly at a transparent $145/hour rate.
What's included in an EMDR intensive?
The arrangement includes preparation and assessment, the extended three-hour EMDR
processing sessions, and integration and follow-up. Faith-integrated care is available and
woven in at your pace never imposed.